Shuttlecock



Oct. 18, 1949. A M TlMPE 2,485,420

sHuTTLEcocK Filed Oct. 14, 1946 Patented oct. 1s, 1949 t, UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHUTTLECOCK Atwood M. Timp, Los Angeles, Calif. Application October 14, 1946, Serial No. 703,158

9 Claims. (Cl. 273-106) This invention relates to a shuttlecock generally termed a bird and used in the games of badminton, battledore, shuttlecock and the like, wherein the so-called bird is struck by rackets manipulated by the contending players of the game.

The present invention constitutes an improvement over my prior Patent No. 2,217,032, dated October 8, 1940, wherein I have disclosed a form of shuttlecock the cup-shaped base or body of which is composed of sponge rubber. However, while my prior invention possessed many ad vantages it was found that due to theextreme flexibility of the base, it allowed the cone, which consists of feathers, to open up to such a degree, when the bird is hit with a hard smash for what is known as a finish shot, that the bird is caused to slow up at the end of its flight thus giving an opponent too much time to retrieve the-bird before it hit the floor.

One of the principal objects of the present invention'is to overcome the foregoing objection without losing any of the advantages obtained from the use of a sponge rubber base.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent as the specification is considered with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a vertical section taken through the center of a shuttlecock or bird constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 3-3'of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of one of the feathers utilized in the construction of the bird;

Figure 5 is a sectional view` of a modified form of the invention;

Figure 6 is a sectional view of a still further modified form of the invention;

Figure '7 is a horizontal section taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 6; and

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional fragmentary view of a still further modified form of the invention.

Referring more particularly to the drawing, II) designates a substantially heini-spherical base or body of pure gum sponge rubber and, formed integral with the marginal portion of said body is a circular wall II also formed from sponge rubber. In order to give the body of the bird a finished and attractive appearance, I prefer to encase said body including the wall II with an integral thin skin or layer I2 of pure gum rubber.

Thus the elastic body of the bird has the general shape of a cup with a rounded forward or lower end. Embedded in the wall II are the ends of the quill portions I3 of the feathers I4 forming a part of the bird. These feathers are cut from the extreme upper portions of natural feathers that are from ten to twelve inches long in order toobtain maximum flexibility of the feather with minimum weight and thus, I am able to produce a bird having a greater degree of weight in the body thereof.

I prefer to cut the feathers so that the same have an approximate length of two and seveneighths inches over-all, as such construction enables a substantial portion of the quill to be inserted in the wall II, and from the top or rear face of the wall I I the quill with the feather portions thereof cut away extends rearwardly or up- 2s-l wardly for approximately seven-eighths of an inch.

almond shape and, when the forwardly and inwardly inclined ends of the quill portions of said feathers are inserted in the wall II the feather portions I4 are disposed so that they overlap each other, thereby forming a substantially circular wall that gradually increases in diameter towards its outer or rear end.

Due to the particular shape of the portions I4 of the feathers and the` arrangement of such portions when said feathers are applied to the body of the bird, the spin of the bird after being struck and while in iiight is not laffected and further, there is no quivering of the bird during ight.

In cutting and giving shape to the feathers that are used in the bird, the barbs on that portion of Those portions of the quills of the feathers I the quill that is embedded in the wall I I and body I are shaped so that they project slight distances from the quill thus forming oppositely disposed short rows of barb portions I3ct which, when embedded in the Wall and body and secured thereto by cement or other adhesive, effectually anchors the feathers to the body and resists to a substantial degree strains and stresses that tend to pull the embedded portions of the feathers out of the body and wall.

In order to firmly secure the feathers to the elastic body of the bird, the ends of the quill portions I3 and barbs I3a thereon are, before being inserted into the body, coated with a suitable cement or adhesive and, to further secure the feathers to the body and to maintain the projecting portions of the feathers in proper relation, a thread I preferably of linen surrounds the quilt portions of the feathers immediately adjacentthe flat surface at the top or rear end of wall I I and this thread is secured to the quill portions. oil the feathers and to the fiat surface: of the wall by cement or other adhesive. In some instances the barbs [3a may be omitted.

In applying the tie l5 to the feathers, I prefer to. wrap said4 tie twice around the circular row of feathers. before. securing its ends to each other, and, duringl such operation the tie is drawn` tautV sov as toslightly contract the size of the circle occupied by the row of feathers. and, such action necessarily contracts to a certain degree thev cir-- cumferenceof the wall Il, thereby putting the elastic material in said wall under compression and such action reduces the circumference of the.-

circle occupied by the outer endsv of the feathers.

In Fig. l dotted linesy :n indicate the posi-tion` of the feathers lbefore the tie has been applied and drawn taut, as4 just described and, solidlines show the position of the feathers. after the tying operation has been completed and the. bird is` read-y for use.L

This development of tension in the wall por,-l tionv of the body materially increases the resiliency of the` bird and imparts thereto the very desirable attribute of speed in play, due tothev fact that the bird tends to return to its normal position more quickly than where. a substantial portion of the sponge rubber body is not. under constant tension due to the compression afforded by the tie.

The location of the thread I5 directly against the upper or rear at face of the wall I I, locates the weight, of said thread as near as possible to the center of gravity of the elastic body of. the

bird and, said thread in such position., does not.

offer any resistance to the air during the flightof the bird and. which condition would existif the threadwere positioned on theV quill portion of the feathers. a short distance awayfrom the. end` of the wall I I. of the body.

In order to obtain the desired degree of compression imparted to the upper portion of the wall II of the body, a narrow strip of thin ilexible material I 6, preferably fabric, such as a narrow ribbon or strip of silk, is secured to the outer face of the upper portion of the wall II after the same has been compressed, said thin, narrow strip being permanently secured tov the wallof the body by the adhesive, such as cement.

After the tie I5 has been applied and secured. around the feathers. immediately,v adjacent. the top of the wall of the body, the latter is dippedv in rubber cement having a pure white pigmentl in.

order that said cementA may coat the. entire. surface of the body I0 and the circumferential surface of the wall I I. After the cement has partially dried and become tacky, the narrow, flexible strip of fabric I6 is applied to the cuter upper face of the wall II, with the ends of said strip overlapping approximately one-half inch. In applying the fabric strip, it is pulled tight upon the Wall, but it should not increase the compression of the rubber in the wall beyond that degree produced by the application and fastening of the tie I5.

While the cement coating on the Wall and body are still tacky, a pure white dusting powder is applied to said cement coated surface and, when the cement has become thoroughly dried the body of the bird is given apurewhite. color which adds materially to the appearance thereof. In order to increase the appearance of the bird, the fabric strip I6 that is secured to the upper outer portion of the wall by the rubber cement may be distinctively colored, for instance, red, blue, green, or the like.

AnV especially desirable feature of my invention is, that the over-all length of the feather is less that. that of the feathers used in the standard forms of birds now produced and on the market and, I have found by tests, and, experiments that this. shortening of the feathers, is. effective in producing a stiffer cone of feathers without the necessity for stitching or tying, the feathers to each other at a point above or to the, rear of' the body of the bird. By eliminating this stitching or tie it is possible to producea bird that-Will. weigh approximately ten grains more than the conventional bird and this added weight an advantage, due to the fact that the flight of the bird after being struck will be truer on account of its. increased weight.

The reason that my improved bird does not travel farther than. the standard bird in spite of the added weight,A is due to the fact. that whenthe. bird receives a. hard` blow, the resulting, added spin causes the conev of feathers to expand, thus stop.- ping the bird within the boundary Alines of the court on which the game is played.,

However, practice has proven that `due to the extreme flexibility of the base` so. far described, it allowed the cone` of' feathers to open tosucha degree, under extreme playing, conditions, that the bird, at the end. of its` flight, travels. so Slowly as to give an opponent toov much time in. which to retrieve the. bird before it hits the. Hoor.. In order to definitely limit this openingv or. spreading action of the feathers, withoutsacrificing any of the advantagesv flowing from the. use of a, sponge rubber base, I propose.. to. reinforce. or stiffen that portion of the base adjacent to. ther lower or forward end of chamber 25:. the, base is provided, with a reinforcing or stiiening member 28 to which the endsof theI quill portions, I3 are attached, as by frictional engagement.i or by means of a suitable cement4 or adhesive..

In the preferred form of my invention, illustrated in Figure. 1,. the: member. 28.,l which isY of semi-spherical shape and preferablyI of cork. or hard rubber but may be of. any suitable` material of desired weight, and resistanc.e,. having. less flexibility than sponge rubber III, is suitably coated with cement and embedded in the soft. rubber base IU, in the course of manufacturing operations. The. flat. rear` face 29, ofV the member 28 is preferably arranged ush with or slightly below the bottom of chamber. 25,. but insome` instances may project Slightly into4 the. chamber 25` And, when the, stiffening member extends` slightly into or is flush with the bottom of cham,-

ber 25, the face 29 will constitute the bottom wall of the chamber and where the stiiening member 28 is arranged below the chamber 25, the former will of course be completely embeddedinthe'v soft rubber of which the body orbase is made.

The flat face '29 of member 28 is peripherally recessed to provide a Ishoulder 39 against which the ends of the forwardly and* inwardly inclined quills rest thus preventing inwardgclosi'ngbmovement of the quills. Consequently-it will be' seen that whenrthe cone wants to open the quill end of the feathers will be pressed against the shoulder 3,9 of the stiffening member only'allowing the cone to open up just the distance of the amount of sponge rubber which surrounds the feathers at the top of the base. The member 28 also assists the operator in building the bird in that it serves as 'a stop to prevent pushing the quills too far into the base and thus causing :an irregular condition at the top of the cone.

Figure shows stiff-ening member la slightly modied form of 3|, quite similar in shape to member 28 except that theforward curved end of the latter is eliminated. The depth or thickness of the member 3l is thus materially reduced thereby adding more life and rebound in the nose of the bird.

Figure 6 discloses a still i-urther modification in which a stifiening member 32 in the lform of a fiat apertured disk is employed. In this form of the invention inward or closing movementl of the inner ends of the quills is resisted by the frictional engagement of the quills with the stiiiening member 32. This resistance is increased by reason of the fact that these parts are cemented to each other. The use of member 32 imparts even greater life and rebound in the nose of the bird than attained by the use of member 3|. It will also be noted that member 32 serves as a stop member for limiting the extent to which the quills can be inserted in the case, in the same manner as member 28 and 3 I.

In Figure 8 I have disclosed a still Ifurther modification of my invention wherein the cord or tie I5 is eliminated. However, in lieu of the member -I`5 I employ a narrow exible endless band 40 of porous fabric, somewhat similar to the strip IS, previously described. This band 40 is rembedded in the wall II during molding operations so that it will lie between and in slightly spaced relation with respectv to the strip I6 land the quill portions I3 of the feathers. This reduces the amount of rubber between these parts thus reducing the outward motion of the feathers and reducing the liability of quill breakage. At the same time the small amount of rubber between the quill ends I3 and the band 40 prevents any direct shock at this point.

Thus it will be seen that I have provided a shuttlecock or bird that is relatively simple in construction, inexpensive o-f manufacture and very effective in performing the functions for which it is intended.

It will be understood 'that minor changes in the size, form and construction of the various parts of my improved shuttlecock, may be made and substituted for those herein shown and described, without departing from the spirit of my invention, the scope of which is set -forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, whatl I claim is:

l. A shuttlecock comprising a substantially hemispherical body of elastic material, an elastic wall formed integral with said body Opposite .iposite its rounded yface, a stiffening its roundediace, a circular` row of feathers having the ends of their quill portions inserted in said elastic'wall', lav flexible tie surrounding the quill portions of said feathers immediately adjacent the endlof said wall and which tie is secured to said Wall, a stiiieningl member in said base formed of stiffer material'than the material of which said elastic wall is -flormed and engaging the ends of said vquill :portions iorfresisting rinward closing movementlrthereof. -2.,.A- shuttlecock comprising la substantially hemi-sipherical body-of elastic material, an elastic circulrarwwall iormed integral with said body opmember embedded insaid base, a circular row of feathers having :the ends of theirxquill portions inserted and embedded in saidwall yand the extreme ends of the.A quills engaging said member whereby inward or closing movement of said ends is resisted. 3. A shuttlecock comprising la substantially heini-spherical body cf sponge rubber, 1a circular wall of sponge rubber formed integral with said heini-spherical body of rubber opposite its rounded face and a series of 'feathers having the ends of their quill portions embedded in said wall and extending a substantial distance beyond said wall into said hemi-spherical body of sponge rubber and stiffening means in said body of less flexibility than sponge rubber engaged by the lends of said quill portions f 4. A shuttlecock comprising a substantially cup-shaped body formed of sponge rubber and having a chamber therein, a plurality of feathers having their quill ends embedded in said body around the chamber therein, barbs on the embedded end portions of said feathers and a stiftening member embedded in said body engaged by said quill ends. 'l

5. A shuttlecock comprising a substantially cup-shaped body formed of sponge rubber and having a recess formed therein, a plurality of feathers extending upwardly and outwardly from said body and having their quill ends extending downwardly and inwardly into and embedded in said body around the recess therein and means applied and permanently secured to the upper portion of the body around the recess therein for imparting and maintaining compression in that portion ofthe body in which the quills are embedded, stiffening means embedded in said body and engaging the downwardly and inwardly extending ends of said quills for resisting inward movement of said quill ends toward each other. 6. A shuttlecock, comprising a substantially hemispherical sponge rubber body, an axially disposed recess formed in the ilat surface of said body, a plurality of feathers having their quill ends embedded in said flat surface around said recess, the tips of said quill ends extending into said body a substantial distance below the floor of said recess, and means in said body for stiftening that portion of the body in which said quill portions are embedded, the tips of said quill ends being secured to said means.

'7. A shuttlecock comprising a substantially cup-shaped body formed of sponge rubber and having a recess formed therein, a pluralityoi feathers having their quill ends embedded in said body around the recess therein, and a stiffening member embedded in said body adjacent the inner end of said recess and engaged by said quill ends to resist inward or closing movement of said ends.

8. A shuttlecock comprising a substantially cup-shaped body formed of sponge rubber and man rubber, said body having a rounded face andra 1d 2,359,726

fiat; face opposite; its roundedV face",l ai series: of feathers having the: quill ends of. their quill pottions.- embedded. in said body and extending a substantial distance beyond said dat; face and stii'ening' means incorporated in said body' of less flexibility than sponge rubber engaged the ends of said' qui-1l portions.

ATWooD M.

a, REFERENCES' CITED The following referencesare of record in the me of this patent-z. A

STATES PATENTS Nlmxber Name Date 2,059,930 Booth ,..--n Nov. 3, 1936 21,217,032 Ti-rnp Oct. 8, 1940 Booty Oct. 3, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS' Country Date 406,465.

GreatBrtan. Mar. 1, 1934 

